Art students and others encounter problems when transporting paintings, particularly when the paintings have not completely dried. Typically, such paintings are artists' media on canvas stretched on a frame, usually rectangular, or on a sheet or board. Wet paintings can be and often are smeared or marred during transport and even during storage. Also, dust and other foreign matter can adhere to an unprotected wet painting.
Carriers for paintings have been devised. However, such prior art arrangements are typically relatively expensive and complicated. The following United States patents are believed to be representative of the state of the prior art in the field of painting carriers: U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,771, issued Nov. 21, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,147, issued Jul. 5, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 941,212, issued Nov. 23, 1909, U.S. Pat. No. 728,450, issued May 19, 1903, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,281,031, issued Oct. 25, 1996.
The following United States patents are directed to general box constructions not intended or suitable for the transport of wet paintings: U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,221, issued Mar. 26, 1991, U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,930, issued Apr. 4, 1995, U.S. Pat. No. 2,732,121, issued Jan. 24, 1956, U.S. Pat. No. 1,168,565, issued Jan. 18, 1916, and U.S. Pat. No. 295,030, issued Mar. 11, 1884.